House Mouse - by Michael Hall (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

When a clever and resourceful mouse looks for a safe place to settle down, she learns that home is wherever you make it. A story about friendship, hospitality, and building from the award-winning and bestselling Michael Hall, creator of Red: A Crayon's Story and Perfect Square.

On a chilly morning, a mouse finds something remarkable: a warm and welcoming fire. So, she builds a stove to mark the spot. When a fox chases the mouse but suddenly stops, she builds a floor on the patch of ground where she is protected. Soon, it seems as though the mouse has everything she needs for a house. But there's one thing missing: friends!

House Mouse is a deceptively simple story about hard work, creativity, and sharing from a master of layered, yet accessible picture books. Michael Hall's signature bright, bold mixed-media artwork will catch the eye of the youngest readers, as will the busy mouse's tool collection and construction work.

House Mouse is playful and surprising and shares a powerful message about friendship, empathy, and hospitality. A must-have for fans of Mo Willems and Eric Carle.

Review Quotes

"With the graphic minimalism of a simple group of shapes or the squiggle of a line, a house mouse creates a space that evolves into a house for all. . . . This simple book is a timely addition to titles that encourage social emotional learning as it presents a step-by-step transformation that echoes safety with an enduring welcome and empathy for newcomers." -- School Library Journal (starred review)

"It begins with a house, or perhaps with a warm, welcoming flame, or perhaps with the intrepid journey of a mouse who travels over a hill, across a river, and into an asparagus patch to find a home. . . . Gentle, straightforward text and onomatopoeia recount the mouse's efforts to envision what could be before it is there . . . A thoughtful tale for engineers young and old." -- Kirkus Reviews

"When a mouse discovers a 'warm and welcoming' flame in an asparagus patch one cold day, she makes the first in a series of life-changing decisions. . . . The construction theme is a natural for Hall, who builds his images from simple, bright-colored shapes . . . As readers appreciate Hall's graphic inventiveness, they can also ponder how much comfort and company a hearth can provide." -- Publishers Weekly

"It all begins when a tiny mouse finds something remarkable in a wild asparagus patch. . . . The soundscaping elements . . . will lend themselves brilliantly to read-alouds, child participation, and dramatization . . . This is a sweet, original, well-structured story about how leading with our warm, welcoming impulses will serve and protect us all." -- Booklist

"A story of perseverance and hospitality, Hall's latest follows a hardworking mouse and her home-building journey. . . . Hall's use of onomatopoeia and geometric shapes (a triangle for the mouse's body; rectangles for the house's frame and floor) naturally emphasize and extend the construction theme. Vignettes highlighting the protagonist's industriousness are interwoven with double-page spreads depicting cutaway and interior views of her cozy home. . . . This tale of a mouse and her house is aglow with tenacity, generosity, and good cheer." -- Horn Book Magazine